Pakistani actor Mahira Khan has announced that she is expecting her second child with husband Salim Karim, sharing the news shortly before making her debut at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) 2026.
The actor revealed her pregnancy on Instagram with a photograph in which she was dressed in a white maternity gown and visibly showing her baby bump.
“We make plans, and then there is ALLAH’S plan.”
The baby will be Mahira and Salim Karim’s first child together. Mahira is already mother to her son Azlaan, whom she welcomed in 2010 during her previous marriage to Ali Askari.
Mahira Khan Debuts at TIFF With Her Baby Bump
The pregnancy announcement coincided with another major milestone in Mahira’s career. The actor made her TIFF debut in 2026, taking part in the festival’s Community Impact programme and being recognised for her contribution to cinema.
She also attended the world premiere of Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother, directed by Bassam Tariq and starring Academy Award winner Mahershala Ali.
Mahira appeared on the red carpet in a saree, choosing to embrace rather than conceal her pregnancy.
However, she admitted that publicly revealing such a personal part of her life was not an easy decision.
Speaking to Dawn, Mahira said she is generally a private person and initially felt apprehensive about making the pregnancy public.
“I’m generally quite a private person, so revealing anything personal makes me a little apprehensive. And then, if I’m being completely superficial, I was worried about the clothes!”
She acknowledged that being pregnant while preparing for a major red-carpet appearance presented a very different experience.
“Being pregnant, showing, and then doing a red carpet is a very different experience.”
‘There Was Something Quite Freeing About Just Embracing It’
Despite those concerns, Mahira eventually decided that she did not want to hide her pregnancy during such an important moment in her life.
“But I thought… this is where I am in my life right now. There was something quite freeing about just embracing it rather than trying to hide it.”
Her TIFF appearance consequently became both a professional milestone and a very personal public moment.
For the actor, dressing for the festival was no longer simply about choosing an outfit for the red carpet.
“Strangely, this time around I’ve been thinking about it as more than just, ‘What am I wearing on the red carpet?’”
She added:
“There’s obviously a very visible bump coming with me! So, what I wear and how I present myself feels a little more personal this time.”
Mahira Says Pregnancy at 41 Feels Very Different
Mahira also opened up about the contrast between her current pregnancy and the first time she became a mother.
She was 24 when she was pregnant with Azlaan. Now 41, she says the experience feels substantially different, both physically and emotionally.
“It’s very different this time, and definitely more challenging. The last time I was pregnant I was 24. I’m 41 now, so I’m literally a different woman … emotionally, physically, in every possible way.”
Looking back at her first pregnancy, Mahira described herself as having approached the experience with a certain innocence.
“At 24, I think I went through pregnancy with a certain innocence. I was excited, my health was great, and perhaps I didn’t think too much about everything that could happen. I just went with it.”
Her current experience, she explained, has involved a greater awareness of the physical demands of pregnancy.
‘There Are Days When My Body Simply Doesn’t Allow Me’
Mahira said the physical side of her second pregnancy has been more difficult.
“This time has been very different. Physically, it’s been harder. There are days when my body simply doesn’t allow me to do what my mind thinks I should be able to do.”
That has required an adjustment for an actor accustomed to maintaining a busy schedule involving work and travel.
She also described the emotional experience as different at this stage of her life.
“Emotionally, it’s different too. I think you carry so much more awareness at this age. You know more. You worry more. You understand how precious and fragile it all is.”
Mahira said the pregnancy has brought a mixture of emotions, including happiness as well as fear, exhaustion and vulnerability.
Becoming a Mother Again After So Many Years
Another major adjustment has been returning to the experience of impending motherhood after building an established life and career.
Mahira is already raising a grown-up son and has described herself as having a life shaped by work, routines and independence.
“And then there’s the fact that I already had a life that was very much in motion. I have a grown-up son. I have my work, my routines, my independence.”
She acknowledged that she had developed an idea of what this stage of her life would look like before learning that she was expecting another child.
“To suddenly find myself starting this journey again after all these years has required a real emotional adjustment as well.”
Mahira Khan on Accepting an Unexpected New Chapter
Mahira said her second pregnancy was not necessarily something she had imagined for this point in her life.
Rather than resisting the unexpected change, she has chosen to view it as part of a larger journey.
“You imagine a lot of things for yourself and for your life, and this wasn’t necessarily one of the things I had imagined at this point. But we plan and then God plans, and of course His plans are supreme.”
For Mahira, accepting the pregnancy has also meant learning to let go of the need to control every aspect of her future.
“I think that has been a big part of this pregnancy for me … learning to surrender. To accept that I don’t have to have everything figured out, and that life can surprise you even when you think you know where it’s going.”
